Starting Over
by laxwriter
Summary: After her accident Quinn wakes up in the hospital, but how much time has passed?  Can she start over?


**A/N: So this ficlet came up and bit me while I watched the 2****nd**** promo. Stop reading if you don't want a SPOILER (haven't seen the new promo). In the promo Quinn is sitting next to Artie in the choir room in the episode we know as Big Brother, but then in the Saturday Night Fever dance number she isn't there, this episode happens after Big Brother. So my mind started turning, if Quinn is healthy enough to be back at school and in the choir room wouldn't she be healthy enough to perform, obviously neglecting the fact that she is in a wheelchair and has intense physical therapy after school which prevents her from participating in said group number. This is what my mind came up with. Hope you all like it, I actually think it is an interesting story plot and if done by Ryan Murphy and company would allow our favorite blonde to stay on the show season 4 without having to get too creative It's possible that she is there subconsciously but not physically, I mean they did say she could come back any way, ghost, flashback, dream, why not as a comatose soul watching over her loved ones until she wakes up. Disclaimer: I do not own GLEE or any of its characters. Glee is the property of its creators and FOX. Please review thank you.**

The incessant beeping that fills her ears and reverberates throughout her skull is insanity creating but her body is too tired and heavy to roll over and turn off the alarm. It goes and one and one for what seems like forever yet only a few seconds at a time. Eventually she's had enough and forces her lead lined eyelids open so that she can locate her alarm and chuck it across the room. As her eyes begin to focus, though a certain level of blurriness remains, she does wear contacts after all, she notices that the plain white walls and ceiling are not of her room. Her eyes dart around and with more effort than it should ever take she turns her head and discovers she is surround by a plethora of machines, one of which is the culprit of the irritating beeping, the beeping she now realizes matches her slow but strong heartbeat. Hospital, she is in the hospital. She is confused at first and then it is as if someone began to play a movie in her mind and she remembers, she remembers winning sectionals, of telling Rachel she would support her and the wedding, of rushing home and changing into her bridesmaid dress and then driving towards the courthouse. She can hear her phone beeping for a second time telling her she has another message, she can feel herself pick up the phone and read the messages before typing in a response and then she hears a loud car horn and blackness falls over her.

It's painfully obvious that she'd been in a car accident, clearly a bad one since she was waking up in the hospital. Turning her head, this time a little easier but still way to hard, she spots someone sitting by her side, asleep, it's her mother. She studies her mom for a moments, her mom looks older and exhausted. Her normally pristine appearance is disheveled.

"Mom," pain shoots down her throat and as an unfamiliar hoarse voice comes out. It's enough though because her mother stirs. Blue eyes met hazel and her mother gasps and lunges forward. "Quinnie you're awake." She is crying as she takes Quinn's hand and squeezes tightly.

"Water." Quinn croaks out, her priority is to sooth the burning inferno in her throat rather than question her mother's behavior. Quinn's mom complies and after several cool soothing sips informs Quinn she is getting the doctor. Quinn merely nods as the sand man returns and sprinkles his dust over her and sleep comes softly.

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><p>Santana's phone goes off and everyone shoots her a dirty look, this is not the time for distracting. Santana shrugs and takes her phone out to turn it off when she notices the name on the caller id. She accepts it immediately. "Mrs. Fabray?" This gets everyone in the room's attention. They all move closer and Santana's girlfriend Brittany places a hand in Santana's free hand. "Oh My God…Everything is alright?...I see, keep me up to date. Grasias." Santana hangs up the phone, tears fill her eyes and she gives her team mates, her friends, her family a bright smile. "Quinn's awake." Cheers erupt from everyone. They are hugging one another and the heaviness that weighed them all down since the accident, since their dear friend slipped into a coma the doctors weren't sure she'd wake up from, lifted. They would have celebrated all day but suddenly a man appeared at the door, "New Direction your on deck."<p>

Santana looked at all her friends, "Come on lets go win this thing, for Quinn."

"For Quinn." They all echoed and then headed to the stage to win the Show Choir Nationals, a renewed jump in their steps and joy knowing that they would being taking home the trophy to their teammate, their friend, their sister.

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><p>It had been one day since she first woke up and an hour since the doctor told her that she had been in a coma for three months. Three months, she'd lost three months of her life, and Quinn didn't quite know how to process that information, nor did she know what to think when the same doctor found it pertinent to tell her just after informing her about the coma that she had had suffered spinal cord damage and despite the several surgeries she'd gone through during her slumber, they weren't sure she'd ever walk again. He said the odds were about 5050. She'd lost some muscle mass during her coma which apparently didn't help either.

"Sweetie, you should be sleeping, it'll help you heal." Quinn's mom said as she came back from talking to the doctors some more.

"I've been asleep for three months mom, I think that's enough." Judy gave her a sympathetic smile before kissing her cheek. "I am just so happy you've come back to me. I know its going to be hard but we can get through this together Quinnie, I'll be with you every step of the way and I am sure your friends will be as well."

"Speaking of my friends, are they here?" Quinn asked hopefully. She really needed the distraction that she was sure Santana, Brittany, and even Rachel could give her right about now.

"No." Quinn's heart fell, she shouldn't be surprised , she hadn't been the best of friends to most of the members of the glee club over the years, but she thought that she'd made amends with them.

"Oh, honey it isn't like they didn't want to be, I mean you've had constant visitors over the past three months, but sweetie, its Nationals this weekend, they are all in Florida."

"Florida." A tear slid down her cheek, she had so been looking forward to Nationals, she'd never been to Florida and she could wait to go. Now she'd missed her chance, just like she had missed the second half of her senior year.

"It'll be alright, Quinn, you'll see." Quinn just prayed her mother was right.

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><p>Singing woke Quinn from her mid-day nap (her second of the day already) and she was surprised to see her friends dancing into her room. Their smiles as the saw her were infectious and she returned with her own bright smile. The first to enter had been Brittany who'd practically attacked Quinn in a hug, the end of the line was Rachel and Puck, and Puck was holding one of the largest trophy's Quinn had ever seen. She gasped and began to cry, "You did it, you won," she cried out.<p>

"No Quinn, we did it, this is your trophy as much as any of ours." Rachel smiled as she came up and hugged Quinn.

"But I wasn't there, I didn't sing." Quinn tried to rationalize

"You were there, in our hearts and minds, and you got us to Nationals Quinn, we couldn't of done it without you." Quinn nodded though only partially believing the singer's words. As she touched the trophy she promised herself that she'd take New Directions back and she would sing and she would win it again, for real.

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><p>Starting over, that was what she was doing, and it was harder than she'd expected. The summer had been a bit of a fantasy. She hung out with all her friends and attended physical therapy session after session. At times she forgot that she'd been forced to postpone her attendance to Yale, as she had to redo her senior year after missing four months of school, three while in the coma and one while she was still in the hospital.<p>

Entering McKinely without Brittany or Santana at her sides was odd, and not seeing Puck in the halls or having Rachel run up to her to tell he some random fact was hard to adjust too. Though she wasn't completely alone, no Artie wheeled next to her, they'd come close friends over the summer as he taught her how to use her wheelchair, and Tina walked next to them. Blaine greeted her as she got to her locker and Rory, who hadn't been deported, offered a four leaf clover for good luck for the year.

It was the during the first glee meeting that Quinn felt the most out of place, felt old. Freshman had auditioned as well as a few sophomores, they were all good but none of them were Rachel or Mercedes or even Santana. Quinn was happy to see Joe was back and had wheeled to sit next to him at the beginning of class. Quinn had been the most surprised when she and Artie had been elected captains.

Later that day Quinn ran into a very pregnant Coach Sylvester who informed Quinn that her spot on the team was still wait for her. Quinn had been shocked, but Coach simply said she knew Quinn would be on her feet by Nationals in the spring, and that she need Quinn especially when the baby came in a month. Quinn had happily agreed to remain on the team

By the time she reached her PT session later that day, she was exhausted, because starting over was difficult, but maybe just maybe it wouldn't be as hard as she had feared. Her best friends may be gone but she had new friends who'd help her just as much as Santana, Brittany, Puck, and Rachel had helped her all summer.

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><p>Santana Lopez was excited to get home for Christmas break and was even more excited, though she'd never tell anyone, to see her best friend again. She talked to Quinn a couple of times a week, but it was different than seeing each other every day. Santana had a feeling Quinn was keeping something from her and Santana was dying to know what. Quinn had been extremely happy over the last week or two and Santana wasn't sure what could be responsible for her friend's sunnier disposition. Of course Quinn's life had turned for the better, she was visiting Beth once a week, helping run the Cheerios while Coach Sylvester was on maternity leave and her classes were going well. Quinn had long ago admitted that school was hard for her after the accident. She'd suffered some brain damage and focusing for long periods of time, which was required during class and for homework, was difficult. She also had trouble retrieving words at time and slurred her words occasionally. When Judy had discovered Quinn's difficulty had signed her daughter up for Speech Therapy, apparently it was help and school was getting a little easier for Quinn, though for someone who once barely need to study to maintain a 4.0 it was frustrating.<p>

Walking into Breadstix with Brittany on her arm Santana was greeted by all her friends, everyone was home from college and the old gang was back together for the first time since August.

"Where is Q?" She asked Puck as she hugged him.

"Not here yet. So how is UCLA?"

Santana smiled, "Amazing." Twenty minutes later she was still talking to Puck about UCLA and California when the room went obviously dead silent. Curious as to what caused such a reaction from her friends she turned to the door and her jaw nearly dropped to the ground. There in the doorway stood Quinn with crutches under her arms. Tears came to the normally steel tough Latina as she watched her best friend take slow and tentative steps, but step still, into the restaurant. "What's everyone looking at, never seen a girl in crutches before?" Quinn joked. The blanket of silence broke and chaos reigned as everyone rushed to congratulate Quinn.

Santana stayed back as she watched Puck swinging Quinn around. A smile graced her face as her chocolate eyes met her friend's hazel ones. The two nodded communicating so much in that one look. Santana couldn't be more proud of Quinn, the girl had been told just eight months ago that she would probably never walk again, eleven months ago she was in a coma that she wasn't supposed to wake up from, and yet here Quinn was, standing among her friends laughing as if nothing had happened. Quinn was the strongest and bravest person Santana knew and she loved her, of course she'd never tell Quinn that.

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><p>This was it, this was the moment she'd promised herself all those months ago that she'd reach. The year had been long and hard. Physical therapy was near impossible and utterly painful at times, but when she'd taken that first step all the work and pain was worth it. When the Cheerios won second place at Nationals a month ago it had been worth it. Every accomplishment no matter how big or small over the past year was worth all the sweat, blood, tears, burning pain, aching muscles and sleepless night. Quinn knew she was a better stronger for all she had been through in her life. She was more sympathetic, understanding, and compassionate. She was better daughter, friend, and role model for her daughter. Oddly enough despite all the heartache and pain both physical and emotional Quinn wouldn't change anything that had happened to her over the past four years from conceiving Beth to her car accident. Her past made her who she was today, and Quinn like this version of herself more than any other, this was the version she was going to Yale as.<p>

"Now third place in the 2013 National Show Choir Competition is Songsters from West Chester West High." Quinn smiled as the team to her left jumped up and down in celebration but turned her attention back to the judge, Bernadette Peters. She felt pressure on her hand and saw it was Blaine, the smiled at each other, this was it.

"And your 2013 National Champions are….The New Directions, McKinley High." Elation, joy, and a true sense of accomplishment washed over Quinn as she took the trophy for her team. They'd done it, they'd won Nationals a second year in a row, and this time she'd been a part of it, and Quinn had never felt prouder of herself. A year ago she'd lain in a hospital bed praying for this moment and it was finally here. Looking out she found a group of people standing and cheering louder than anyone else in the auditorium, she found her mom's face, tear spilling down her cheeks, then her eyes met Pucks and she glanced down at the blonde toddler in his arms. Next to him was Finn who was hugging his fiancé Rachel. Brittany was jumping up and down next to Santana who just gave Quinn a thumbs up which Quinn returned. In front of Santana were Mercedes and Sam and Kurt each clapping enthusiastically. Finally Quinn's felt as if she could move on, her future was bright and see was looking forward to new experiences and her next journey.

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><p><strong>Please Review!<strong>


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